Editing Rails Through Hell (section)

==Setting Background==

===History===

'''Cruor'''. A land of life surrounded by lifelessness. A huge area of fertile land and freshwater lakes and rivers. Bordered by a seemingly endless salt desert to the east, by a massive mountain range to the west and south, and to the north by arid tundra that ends in eternally frozen glaciers.

Over time, explorers have tried to brave the desert or the ice, or to cross the mountains, but those who returned could only report failure. Some faiths believe that there is nothing beyond the borders.

Long ago, in the barbaric era, Cruor was a land of separate clans and tribes that constantly raided and warred with each other. This was to change with the birth of a man called '''Falcon''', who became the '''First Falcon King'''.

Half human and half elf, Falcon rose to lead both tribes whose blood he had. Some historians say it was done by charm and diplomacy, others that it was by violence and assassination. All agree on what happened next. He created an army from both tribes and led it to war. By their numbers and their different yet combined ways of doing battle, Falcon Army subjugated the neighboring tribes. Rather than enslave and pillage as was usually done, Falcon added the tribes to his force.

Some legends claim that Falcon conquered all of Cruor, but that is not quite true. He started it, but unifying the land under one banner was continued by his son and finished by his granddaughter. And the conquest was not always by sword. Seeing the growing power of Falcon, some tribes willingly bent knee and joined him.

But Falcon was the person who made the unification of Cruor possible. His relentless advance ultimately brought unified opposition. The '''Alliance of the Oath''', formed and led by an elven mystic '''Scorpion'''. He arrived from the great salt desert. Some legends claim that Scorpion came from beyond the desert, but most historians agree that he was most likely a hermit mage who made his home in the desert. Historians disagree on his motivation. Some believe he reacted to the conquest of the tribe of his birth. Others believe he had mystical or philosophic reasons. What is known is that he was an eloquent speaker who warned that Falcon’s way of the conqueror would bring an end to the way of life of the tribes, and to their ancestral traditions by which they had survived, and that disaster would surely follow if the conqueror was not stopped.

Scorpion gathered a force of the still independent tribes, bolstered by exiles and refugees from the conquered tribes who had refused to join Falcon. The Alliance of the Oath met '''Falcon Army''' on a plain that carried a different name then but has since been known as the '''Plain of Bones'''. The Alliance took their name from the oath they swore, to fight for the independence and the traditions of their people. The Alliance outnumbered the Falcon Army, but had less cohesion. Tribal warbands against an organized army. The courage of the Alliance warriors faced the discipline of Falcon Army, and neither broke. Dead piled on both sides as the battle raged. Then the two leaders faced each other as Falcon and Scorpion clashed, knowing that only the fall of a leader could decide the battle.

Sagas and legends tell of the duel, and in more modern times, plays and novels as well. Both combatants had great skill at arms and wielded potent magics as well. The fight was epic. But at the end, Scorpion fell and the Alliance of the Oath lost the battle. Falcon ordered a great tomb built at the site of the duel in respect of his opponent.

That battle ultimately decided the fate of Cruor. There was no unified opposition to Falcon at that scale afterwards. Individual tribes continued to resist, assisted by survivors of the Alliance of the Oath who remained true to their oath. In the years to come, other people would swear the oath, and the freedom fighters of '''Scorpion’s Oath''' would harass the Falcon Army with guerrilla tactics, sabotage at the rear lines, strikes against the supply lines, and other asymmetric warfare. But they only slowed the inevitable. Eventually, even the last of the independent tribes was conquered.



It was Falcon’s granddaughter, '''Adea the Falcon Queen''', who founded the '''Parliament'''. Realizing that the fame of the Royal Line would fade when there would be no further conquests, and that the disparate tribes would begin to chafe under the leadership of a single person not of their people, she created a ruling power that represented all the people and could even veto Royal decrees and decisions. This proved to be a wise choice, although it would eventually cause the Royal House to lose their power to the Parliament. It would be a peaceful transition though. The founding of the parliament slowly brought an end to armed resistance. Even Scorpion’s Oath took their fight to the field of politics, becoming a significant faction within the parliament, and one most opposed to the House of Falcon.

The various faiths of Cruor had been already unified during the time of Falcon. Originally the tribes had their own gods. Understanding that arguments of faith could tear his army and growing nation apart, Falcon made the priests accept his degree that all gods were true and equal, combining the different faiths into what eventually turned into a single polytheistic one.

An unconfirmed legend tells that the unification of Cruor had one exception. The '''Blood Clan'''. Supposedly their faith and cultural practices were so abhorrent that rather than accepting them into his nation, Falcon had the entire clan put to sword, all they had burned to ash, and forbade mentioning them in histories. In bogeyman tales, some of the Blood Clan survived the purge and went into hiding, and if you are bad they may come for you.

And one people were never conquered. The dwarves of '''Stonegate''', living under the eastern mountains beyond a single massive gate that gave them their name. They had rejected Falcon’s diplomatic overtures, and the sound defeat he suffered when he led his army against Stonegate convinced the conqueror to let them be. For their part, the dwarves were content to stay under their mountains.

After Cruor became one nation, ruled by House of Falcon and the Parliament, it had no external enemies and little internal strife. In this environment, arts and sciences started to flourish, and an age of enlightenment began. Villages turned first into towns and then to cities. New techniques and discoveries led to ever further innovations, culminating in the steam engine that gave birth to railroads, and gunpowder that brought firearms. People of various tribes moved from their villages to growing towns and cities as the land became more urban. Yet the countryside was not totally deserted. Some people were dedicated to keeping their tribal culture and traditions alive, and kept living as they always had, hunting and farming.

In politics, the power of the Royal House waned over time until they were largely figureheads, with the true power in the hands of the Parliament.

Trade also flourished once the relationship with Stonegate turned friendlier, with surface products exchanged for minerals and other underground goods. Eventually, a railway was built, connecting '''Falcon City''', the capital, to Stonegate.

All in all Cruor seemed to be experiencing a golden age. And then the '''Dark Devastation''' happened.

There was no warning. No signs or portents. No explanation. It happened on the holiest day of the year and the largest celebration. '''The All Gods’ Day'''. It started in the capital’s grand cathedral where most of Cruor’s notables had gathered for the service. There were no survivors from the cathedral, and few from the capital in general, but what most accounts say is that all of a sudden, darkness like oily black clouds started flowing out of the doors and windows of the cathedral, spreading over the city and rising to the sky to blot out the sun. And within the darkness were beings of nightmare. And everyone they struck down rose back to their feet, dead, and set upon those still living.

It did not stop in the capital. The darkness and horrors spread rapidly, with people trying desperately to flee. The railroad saved countless lives as trains full of refugees fled the Devastation. But where could they go.

A lot of people decided to seek safety from the only place that had successfully resisted the first Falcon King. They headed for Stonegate as the Falcon Army mustered to repel the horrors. But after generations of peace with no threats, the army had shrunk into a token force that had never seen a real battle. Still they tried, assembling into a natural choke point of the '''Highfall Bridge'''. And although they ultimately failed to stop the horrors, they held long enough for countless refugees to reach Stonegate.

Ultimately, the Devastation still reached Stonegate as well. Firing from behind a shield wall, dwarven gunners kept the horrors at bay until the last refugees had got inside. Then they retreated as well, and what had never been done before happened. The Stonegate closed. A massive stone block weighing tens of tons sealed the entrance, leaving the horrors outside.

The sheer amount of refugees stretched the resources of the dwarven republic to the limits. Temporary housing was hastily quarried into abandoned mining tunnels. Food rationing was announced as new farms were set up in underground halls while engineers worked around the clock to build pumps and pipes from an underground lake to the new farms for irrigation. For all the efforts, malnutrition and even starvation was common in the first years.

Years grew into decades, and although the worst problems passed, life continued to be hard. Many refugees were ill suited for life underground, growing sickly without the light of the sun. Temporary housing turned permanent, with an entire family living in a single room and sleeping in small alcoves in the walls. Food rationing became the norm.

Relationships grew tense as well. Although most dwarves were happy to help, a minority resented the strain the refugees put on them. And while most refugees were grateful, a minority among them resented the better living conditions of the dwarves. Order was largely kept, although at a cost of patrols, checkpoints and curfews.

People tried to find an explanation for what had happened, and rumors and conspiracy theories spread. Revenge of the Blood Clan. Royal House making a pact with demons to regain their lost power. Radicals within Scorpion’s Oath making a pact with demons to bring an end to central authority. Vengeance of the Gods for the sin and decadence of the people who had abandoned the old ways. The explorers found something evil buried in the desert or ice and brought it to capital. The Group I Dislike did it for Reasons.

Scorpion’s Oath was swift to claim that Scorpion the Mystic had foreseen the Dark Devastation, saying that it was the disaster he had spoken of, and that the old traditions abandoned in favor of civilization and progress had kept the threat at bay. But they had an obvious political agenda in making that claim. Both the Parliament and House of Falcon were believed to have perished in the Devastation, for none was known to have reached Stonegate, but a new '''Parliament in Exile''' was formed, working together with the directly elected dwarven Ministers to bring order and governance to the refugees. And the claims of Scorpion’s Oath, whether there was any truth to them, gained them support and power.

Meanwhile, patrols that went above ground through sally points gave bleak news. Darkness had covered the world above and blotted out the sun, and the horrors were still up there.

A generation lived and died in their underground shelter. The next one grew better adapted to the life, but for them, surface and the sun were like fairy tales.

And then a surface patrol brought astounding news. Beams of sunlight. The cover of darkness was breaking.

Parliament in Exile and the dwarven Ministers started hastily talking. Could the surface be won back. But the horrors and the walking dead were still there, and even if they were pushed back, there was no guarantee that the Dark Devastation would not simply repeat. Besides, darkness still covered most of the land, and within it the monsters had the advantage. A decision was soon made that before sending a large army to the surface, they would need to strike at the source. The grand cathedral in the capital. A strike force needed to be sent there. At the very least to find out the truth about Dark Devastation, and if possible – kill it at the source so it would not happen again.

Yet the surface was still mostly covered by darkness and teeming with threats. The capital was hundreds of miles away from Stonegate. It seemed impossible that any force would be capable of reaching it, much less returning.

Then someone pointed out that the railway was still there. If Stonegate was opened long enough to send a train out, it could ride right to the capital. True, the railway might no longer be intact all the way, but if they sent an armored train that could act as a mobile fortified base, and not just soldiers but workers and engineers to repair any broken bridges and rail sections, a train built for war might accomplish what a conventional force would not.

===Life in Stonegate===

'''Dwarven culture''' is centered on professions. Professionalism and hard work are admirable traits among other people too, but dwarves take things a bit further. Not just individual people work the same profession from cradle to grave, striving to perfect their work. It is common for entire families to share the same profession, and to have done so for generations, the oldest generation passing their knowledge and skills on to the youngest. It is not uncommon for a young dwarf to opt for a different profession than the traditional one, but this generally means apprenticing to a family practicing the profession the young dwarf is interested in. This usually ends up with marrying into that family. This is considered normal social interaction, and it is the root of a saying the surface dwellers sometimes find odd. ''Change a profession, change the family.''

'''The refugees''' are a less uniform lot. Before Dark Devastation, there was a divide between the urbanized population living in the cities and embracing the modern advances, and the clan kin living in rural areas, practicing their traditional ways of life. That does not mean either that the clan kin were backwards or barbaric, or that the city folk had completely abandoned their clan traditions. Clans knew about the modern advances, but to what degree they used them varied by clan. And city folk might still wear at least the most important parts of traditional clan garb, or sport tattoos, hairstyles and ornaments common to their origins. It was not so much a cultural divide as a difference between lifestyle choices. But add to that the fact that the nation of Cruor was basically a federation of clans with sometimes very different looks and customs, and the refugees tend to be a highly varied lot.

What Stonegate is like physically varies a bit on where you live. '''The original areas''' where the dwarves live are the most spacious. Ceilings are high to facilitate ventilation. The streets are wide, with houses carved on the sides and pipes running close to the ceiling carrying water, air and electricity. Where the streets intersect are spacious plazas, usually with sculptures, fountains, or small parks in them. And although dwarves can see well in the dark, everything is well lit with electric lights.

Dwarves are '''masters of electricity''' - including military applications. They have to be, for in their underground home, fireplaces and steam engines common in the surface would compromise ventilation. So everything from lighting and heating to various machinery is powered by electricity. Coal power stations and steam engines that provide the power are away from populated areas, and have vents to get rid of the fumes. This was originally a marvel for the refugees who had still relied on gas lights and stoves.

The bright lighting is not just an aesthetic feature. The caves where Stonegate is has its own ecosystem and its own vermin. The lights prevent bats, blind rats and rock moles, and other critters from nesting in inhabited areas, for what is common to underground critters is that they are very sensitive to light. Even the blind ones feel it on their skin as an uncomfortable sensation, so they keep away from light. As a convenient extra feature, the lights make Stonegate easier for outside visitors to navigate. Such visitors were common even before Dark Devastation, although then it was mostly ogrun. Ogrun lived in the mountains close to Stonegate as friendly neighbors, and many lived in Stonegate as itinerant workers even then. Ogrun are strong, and very loyal to those they choose to serve, and have always been welcome among the dwarves.

Things are less well in '''the refugee quarters.''' They were hastily built, as originally speed was of the essence, with people sleeping in tents on the streets. Later on, proper renovations would have required tearing down the original.

Refugee quarters are a bit away from the dwarven quarters, since most were built in closed down mining tunnels, uninhabited caverns, and basically any space that was swiftly available. Ceilings tend to be much lower, and usually the pipes extend along the walls so people do not bump their heads in them. The corridors are much more narrow as well, and the house where people live might be just one large room with sleeping spaces carved on the walls, as originally the priority was to build something that could house as many people as possible, as fast as possible. In one word, the refugee quarters are cramped.

The refugees have the same utilities as the dwarves, though. Ventilation brings fresh air, although in cramped areas it is perhaps not as fresh as in dwarven areas. Electric lights provide illumination and drinking water is available from taps. Deficiencies in the hastily built original infrastructure sometimes cause lights or water to go out, but these problems are usually swiftly fixed.

'''The cuisine''' is more varied than the surface dwellers originally assumed. What can be grown without light are usually various kinds of mushrooms and fungi, and there are entire caverns dedicated to cultivating edible varieties. But people who assumed to face a diet of nothing but fungi and mushrooms were surprised.

Some distance from Stonegate is a vast underground lake where Stonegate gets its water from. Pumping stations send it first to the purification station where any impurities are removed, and then the drinkable water is pumped to the populated areas. But in addition to that, the lake provides several varieties of blind fish and eels, shellfish, and lakeweed and other edible plants.

The dwarves are skilled at harvesting the other cave ecosystem as well. Deep-fried bat. Stuffed mole. Rat stew. And more exotic things. There is a mineral eating cave vermin called ''burrowing maw'' - the name comes from the miners who hate the things - whose flesh, when prepared for food, tastes different depending on what it has been fed with. If you want to dine in expensive style, order one fed with precious metals.

Fruits and vegetables from the surface, once widely available through trade, have become rare and expensive delicacies. But they are available. They are grown in greenhouses under artificial lights. There are other greenhouses that grow inedible plants too, including a huge vault where trees grow! The cost of maintaining these is sometimes criticized, but to close them might mean that the plants within will go extinct, since no one knows if any have survived on the surface. Besides, these '''garden caves''' are popular places for relaxation. Tampering with the plants is strictly forbidden, though.

'''Recreational consumables''' have a lot of variety too. The most common is '''kef''' - a bitter, stimulating drink made from a type of dark mushroom that is dried and powdered. A bit less common product, because smoking is usually prohibited in public areas, are '''silver cigars''' that are made from a silver-gray fungus. Alcohol, most commonly brewed and distilled from mushrooms and fungi, ranges from various beers and ales to strong liquors. '''Striped mushroom''' is a mild relaxant that can be eaten either fresh or dried.

Not all recreational products are legal. Preserved '''Swift Nibbler Adrenal Gland''' more commonly known as ''Snag'' is an extremely strong stimulant - to the point that people have died after taking it. It is strictly banned, along with refined products from mushrooms or fungi with narcotic qualities.